I was in my first ever colour theory class at Humber College
in Etobicoke. This was a memorable day for many reasons, one of which I will
elaborate on now.
The class was full of enthusiastic young aspiring designers,
myself included. Our teacher, who was extremely late, strode in and jotted a
few notes on the board, then with very little instruction asked us to make 100
gouache paint swatches creating a consistent gradation from pure white to pure
black. I had never used gouache before, in fact I had never even heard of it
before so I was a tad confused.
A few hours and a lot of gouache later I felt pretty
confident that I had made a proper set of swatches; however, the time came to
show them and all but two of us in the class were asked to make the 100
swatches all over again. We were so annoyed. In the end I must admit
this basic exercise of mixing gouache is forever drilled in my brain. It makes
me laugh now to look back at the frustration we all shared. I
can’t help but reflect on how far I’ve come since that very first day of colour
theory. I no longer have to make swatches, or even use gouache but whenever I
do use it, I recall this memory and smile.
I must admit that I have since developed an uncanny respect for gouache and I may just have to make a painting inspired by the dreaded grey
scale, just for fun, some day soon.
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